“Look, Kurt, I’m about to absolutely bullshit here, but that’s just the way it is with my dad and my career choices-”

“Fair.”

“-but I am coming up with this story of how Splatoon 2 also challenges me music wise, because let’s be honest, the soundtrack of this game is amazing.”

“It is,” Kurt agrees.

“The fact that it is able to have all these kind of genres within the game is explained by all the different in-universe bands. What if I tell my dad that Splatoon 2 is also pushing me to look into composing work?”

“And you think your dad will buy that?”

Blaine shrugs.

“I have no clue. On one hand, it does sound a bit fantastical, but on the other hand, so does my current job.” Blaine had to explain the whole orchestra subbing several times. Luckily, he can somewhat compare it to freelance work. Shows can hire him to substitute and that’s all fine. “And also, I am certain my dad has no clue what the entire music industry even entails, since he never bothered to really look into it.”

Kurt hums.

Then he says: “I hope you’ll have a great time, Blaine. And I hope you’ll find a team of sorts.”

“No one matches you,” Blaine says.

“Blaine, I am not a pro at all!” Kurt says, but he does sound happy with the compliment, “You keep saying so yourself, you know, with the gear and abilities and what not. You have your in-game music, I have my in-game fashion.”

“Even if your playstyle isn’t pro-level, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy playing Splatoon 2 with someone else,” Blaine says. He thinks back to the earlier thoughts he had. He doesn’t actively think about Kurt talking about The Guy, but this is another reason why Blaine got so upset about Kurt playing with The Guy. Kurt and Blaine are a team. They’ve been a team ever since they met each other online. Blaine thinks that if it weren’t for Kurt, he might’ve gotten tired of the game after months of playing it non-stop.

But no, Kurt keeps encouraging him. Kurt keeps playing with him.

And it’s very hypocritical. Blaine’s aware of that! He heavily dislikes the idea of Kurt sharing ‘their’ game with someone else, whereas Blaine’s about to actively look for new people to play with.

But again, that’s in a different context, namely the competitive one. And Kurt doesn’t want that.

Blaine lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Everything alright?” Kurt asks. Shit, Blaine should’ve muted his microphone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blaine quickly says. He checks his Nintendo Switch Online app on his phone so that he can change subjects. “Hey, there’s Clam Blitz on The Reef and Piranha Pit at the ranked battles! Shall we do a match?”

Blaine already reaches for his docked Switch.

“Actually, I have some work to do. I mean, I’m doing work now, while voice chatting with you,” Kurt says.

“Oh, uh, that’s fine,” Blaine says. He doesn’t know what to do with himself now. They always play during their talks. “Yeah, that’s fair, I might also have to do some work.”

“How’s your job?” Kurt asks.

“Great, especially now that that colleague is no longer an ass.”

Yes, Mr. 21. Blaine’s been giving Kurt some updates, but he was always overshadowed by Kurt talking about The Guy. It feels great to be the one leading the conversation for once. And there’s been a lot of development.

Kurt lets out an laugh. “Oh, I feel you.”

“Yeah, he’s actually… well, okay, nice might not be the best word- not that he isn’t nice!” Blaine quickly adds.

Kurt makes a confused sound.

“It’s just that I don’t know if he’s nice,” Blaine clarifies, “He’s definitely no longer an ass and I think he might be nice, but he doesn’t say much. Which is fine! We travel to work in silence and it’s no longer awkward, but yeah, I don’t even know his name. He’s never told me.”

“Like I said, you never know what is going on inside his head. He might have his reasons for silence. I certainly do.”

Once again, Kurt is right. Since Blaine has no idea what is going on in Mr. 21’s life, he cannot tell. Mr. 21 doesn’t speak with a lot of people. Blaine’s once asked Avalon if they know Mr. 21’s name, but they shook their head. The others at the wardrobe crew probably know.

Blaine knows that Mr. 21 can be loud. He’s had some noise disturbance from the other apartment, but maybe Mr. 21 is like Kurt in that regard. Maybe Mr. 21 is more at ease at the comfort of his own home.

“You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Kurt says and Blaine can hear the smile.

Blaine knocks on Mr. 21’s door. This might be a ridiculous idea, but it just came up to him. He waits for Mr. 21 to hopefully open the door.

And he does.

Mr. 21 looks very confused when he sees Blaine and he turns red.

“Hi neighbour,” Blaine says and he gives Mr. 21 a friendly wave, “Are you ready to go to work?”

Even though Mr. 21 is the only other person here and Mr. 21 works with Blaine, he still looks around to make sure that Blaine’s talking to him. He even points towards himself, which makes Blaine laugh.

“Yeah, you. I thought it’d be easier to actually see if you were in, instead of waiting at my door for you to possibly come out.”

“One sec,” Mr. 21 says quietly and Blaine’s smile widens. Mr. 21 just talked to him.

Mr. 21 hurriedly puts on his shoes and coat and the two of them make their way to the theatre. Blaine talks a lot and Mr. 21 doesn’t talk back, but he’s listening to every word that Blaine’s saying. He nods and hums along.

As usual, they part ways at the theatre.

“Wait,” Blaine calls out before Mr. 21 is out of sight. Mr. 21 looks back over his shoulder and he raises an eyebrow. “What is your-”

“Hey dude!” Avalon throws their arm around Blaine, “Did you hear who’s in the audience today?”

Blaine faces Avalon.

“Wait, one second.”

But when he turns back to Mr. 21, Blaine sees that he’s gone.

Avalon follows Blaine’s gaze.

“Oh, damn, did I interrupt anything?” they ask.

Blaine shakes his head.

“No,” he lies, “Tell me who’s in the audience.”

The two of them walk to the orchestra pit while Avalon talks about a small indie singer-songwriter that Blaine doesn’t know.

Mr. 21’s waiting for Blaine at the exit. He’s typing on his phone like a madman.

“Texting someone?” Blaine asks.

Mr. 21 looks like a deer caught in headlights. He puts his phone in his pocket and mutters something about a friend. Blaine nods. He won’t pry.

“Shall we?” he asks. The road back home is similar as their road to work. Blaine does most of the talking, and Mr. 21 does the listening. They say goodnight.

When Blaine’s in bed, he checks his phone and he finds multiple messages from Kurt. He’s sent them an hour earlier.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove 
BLAINE
Blaine!!!
You eould not believe what happened
I’m at my job now and I’m about to go home with The Guy
Okay not like that, but we do live close by and today he showed up at my door to ask me to come along
Like… holy SHIT
OH wait he’s coming gotta run

Blaine stares at the phone for a few seconds. He wants to react. He wants to say he’s happy, but he can’t. He locks his phone, puts it on his nightstand, and turns away from it.

Another week passes like that. They travel to work together and back. Blaine tries to catch Mr. 21’s name several times, but it sometimes feels like he’s in one of those comedic romcoms where he gets interrupted all the time. He’s certain that Mr. 21 must know his name, since he never asks, so it’s frustrating to no end.

Online, he reads the stuff Kurt writes about The Guy and he gives generic, supportive responses, but he never delves into it and instead he almost insists on playing Splatoon 2 every time they’re both online.

It all goes so fast and suddenly, Blaine’s setting foot at LAX Airport with his father walking next to him. The flight from Columbus landed around the same time and they’re walking towards Cooper, who’s excitedly waving a sign.

An hour later, the three of them are in Cooper’s tiny apartment. It’s not glamourous, but the location is ideal. Blaine’s been here before, but Cooper did repaint the walls.

“I’m going for blue now,” Cooper yells from his kitchen, “Blue keeps you awake, and whatnot. That’s why all social media platforms use a blue interface to keep you scrolling. Hopefully my mind will allow me to go on and on when I’m rehearsing.”

“Doesn’t sound too healthy,” Blaine mutters.

“Good to hear you’re motivated, Coop,” their father says.

Cooper comes back with two mugs with piping hot coffee. He has a radiant smile on his face.

“Look at this, the Anderson men reunited,” he says cheerfully. Cooper’s really glad that everyone’s here and Blaine feels a bit of guilt. He’s yet to drop the World Championship bomb. He knows it’s extremely rude, but he can’t go back now.

Well, it’s also partially his father and Cooper’s fault. They didn’t plan anything.

In fact, Cooper is now talking about all the places they can visit. A lot of them are very self-indulgent.

“- and of course, the Hollywood Boulevard. That’s where the real stars are made!” he beams and then looks at Blaine, “I mean, no offense Blainey, but Broadway?” He makes a mocking sound. “I suppose a sign on Time’s Square with your face on it is nice and all that, but the Hollywood Walk of Fame is forever.”

Blaine shrugs it off. This happens all the time. He can bring up the fact that there are other ways to immobilise Broadway actors, but Cooper won’t budge.

“I mean, Blainey, I know you’re doing the orchestra thing for only a few more weeks. Have you considered moving to LA to try your luck here?”

Their father’s interest is also piqued.

“That’s not a bad idea, Blaine.”

“I like New York,” Blaine says. He doesn’t want to elaborate more, but of course, the others keep pressing the issue.

“No, really, you should give it a thought,” Blaine’s father says in his usual interested, but slightly condescending tone. Blaine’s also gotten used to it. Blaine’s father is genuinely interested and he wants Blaine to succeed, but partially on his terms. “You’ve been living on savings, trust fund and those piano lessons, and now The Street. But you gotta look for something more stable soon. Blaine, you graduated a year ago with that fancy master’s degree!”

Blaine suppresses a sigh.

“You guys know I’m not just sitting around.”

“Well, have you applied to a job recently?” Cooper asks.

Blaine shakes his head. He refuses to break eye contact. He can’t let Cooper know that he’s embarrassed to admit it, because it’s true that he hasn’t pulled all his weight. Apart from that other job he applied to, the one that rejected him, he doesn’t have any other possible jobs and because he’s been so busy with The Street and Splatoon 2 and other stuff that he just didn’t always find the time and energy to look into it.

His father doesn’t suppress his sigh. It’s a sigh of disappointment.

“You know, Blaine,” he starts, “You know I support you if you ever want to try another academic field-”

“I know you do, dad,” Blaine snaps, “In fact, you are actively encouraging me to leave music.”

It falls silent for a few seconds until Cooper starts talking about something vastly different in order to change the subject. Blaine drinks his coffee in peace and his father does look a bit guilty, so Blaine’s watching him. He wonders what’s going on in his father’s head.

This always happens, so Blaine is not too worried. Every time the three of them are in the same place, it goes wrong. Back when Blaine’s mother was still in the picture, she was a great neutral ground, but after the divorce, that got lost.

But then the three always move on. Todd Anderson might not be like Burt Hummel, but Blaine and his father still love each other.

“Cooper, stop talking,” Blaine’s father suddenly says.

Cooper’s mouth goes shut at an instant. Blaine’s never seen him shut up this quickly.

“I apologise Blaine,” his father says to Blaine and Blaine’s eyes widen. An apology? “I know you’re passionate. It’s been difficult for me to support that and that’s only burdened you. I don’t want to repeat our troubled relationship from your teens. I sometimes still don’t understand why you’re so hell-bent on having a music job. Look at your friends, Blaine! They’re all happy in their respective fields and they have music as a hobby! Isn’t the idea of stability and a great passion at the same time appealing?”

It is.

There’s something left unsaid though. Blaine has stability, because his father does monetarily support him. Everyone who attended Dalton has money. Stability wasn’t the reason his friends left the industry.

But a plan forms in Blaine’s head. It’s a very messy thing to do, but this was never going to be great in the first place. His father looks remorseful, so maybe Blaine can use that.

“I’m fine, dad. I know you’re worried, but I’m fine,” Blaine says, “Apology accepted. And, uh, I have other hobbies outside of music. In fact, uh, I have tickets to a video game championship in LA. Uhm, anyway want to come along?”

Another silence.

Cooper’s frowning and Blaine’s father opens his mouth to say something, but he changes his mind. Blaine smiles nervously.

Cooper is the one who breaks.

“… a what?”